When I arrived in Kingston, Jamaica I was immediately struck by the very hot weather, the big noises, smells and fast-paced life on this small Caribbean island.  In the midst of all this energy I was warmly greeted by the St. George’s Jesuit College driver ‘Punchy’.  After twenty minutes along the coast road I found myself in the middle of even more excitement—an exciting youth conference was taking place on the campus of St. George’s College.  700 young people gathered to sing, dance and praise in a very lively, colourful and charismatic way.  I was immediately caught up in the enthusiasm and pulsing energy of the moment.  

My journey to Jamaica began out of a conversation back in September 2006 with Joe Palmisano, SJ. Joe, who has been working in various ways with Slí Eile, would often tell stories about his work in Jamaica.  While listening to these stories a seed was sown, and I began to envision possibilities for young adult volunteering and partnership projects in Jamaica.   And so, during a recent visit to our Colombian volunteer project in the Jesuit parish of Bogota, I took the opportunity to visit Jamaica and explore, on behalf of Sli Eile, future prospects with the Jesuit region.  During my six day visit to Jamaica I was hosted by the regional superior, Fr. Peter McIsaac, SJ.  Peter is a Canadian Jesuit and has been in Jamaica since he was a scholastic, and has been working alongside other Canadian Jesuits Jim Webb and Chris Llanos.   In addition to Canadian and New England Jesuits there are a number of wonderful local Jamaicans in formation who invited me to work with them during the youth conference. Amidst the swelling humid weather, I found myself leading a quiet meditation for Morning Prayer, and to my surprise, 700 teenagers welcomed the quietness and space to reflect. One Jamaican scholastic, Michael Davidson was very enthusiastic and showed himself to be a charismatic leader at the conference. I found it a very moving experience to be in the middle of a crowd of 700 teenagers who exuded joy and confidence in their faith through their singing and music.

Not far from St. George’s College is the Jesuit parish of St. Anne’s in West Kingston.  St. Anne’s pastoral team is working to break the cycle of violence and poverty that continues to trouble the communities of West Kingston. Although there was tension in the air at the time of my visit because of approaching elections, the people of St. Anne’s received me with warmth and hospitality.  The welcome of the local people reminded me of home but the curried goat and fried banana was a far cry from our Irish stew!   

Along with our existing projects to Colombia and Zambia, Slí Eile is in the process of putting together a new three-week volunteer initiative to the West Kingston community based from the Jesuit mission at St. Anne’s Parish. Through this pilot project Sli Eile hopes to learn new ways of 'making a difference' through a collaborative partnership with the local people.  St. Anne’s is excited and looks forward to welcoming and developing this new partnership with our young adult volunteers.  

If you are interested in this opportunity please contact Debbie Moore at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 8943165.